Australia crashed to 37-4 after 10 overs in the second ODI against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Thursday. After winning the toss and choosing to bat, the visitors lost four wickets inside the opening eight overs as Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman produced another devastating new-ball spell.
Taskin struck in the very first over for the second match in a row. After bowling Matthew Short with the opening ball of the first ODI, the Bangladesh pacer cleaned him up again, this time with the fourth ball of Australia’s innings.
Mustafizur then joined the party immediately. Cooper Connolly edged the first ball of his spell behind the wicket and departed without scoring. Australia slipped to 0-2.
The pressure intensified one over later. Matt Renshaw nicked behind off Mustafizur. The on-field umpire turned down the appeal, but Bangladesh reviewed successfully and Australia found themselves 0-3.
The collapse placed Australia in unfamiliar territory. Across more than 1,000 ODI matches, they had never lost their first three wickets without a run on the board. Short and Connolly also became only the third Australian opening pair to register ducks together in an ODI innings.
Josh Inglis and Alex Carey attempted to steady the innings, but Bangladesh refused to ease their grip. Mustafizur removed Carey for 13 from 17 balls, with Najmul Hossain Shanto taking the catch.
That wicket left Australia at 25-4 after eight overs. Cameron Green then joined captain Inglis at the crease and faced the task of rebuilding the innings.
Bangladesh entered the match with confidence after their 86-run victory in the series opener, a result that secured their first ODI win over Australia since 2005. Another dominant start with the ball has now put Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s side in a strong position to push for a first-ever ODI series win against Australia.
